G4S Security Services acquires event stewarding company Rock Steady Group

(05/03/2008)

G4S Security Services (UK) has acquired Rock Steady Group, the UK’s event stewarding company. The acquisition enhances the depth of G4S’s crowd management capabilities in the events security sector, particularly within the areas of live music and venue services.

Headquartered in Edinburgh, Rock Steady is an events specialist incorporating Rock Steady Security Ltd, Rock Steady Event Services Ltd, Rock Steady Sports Event Services Ltd and Avant-Guard Resource Services Ltd. G4S Security Services (UK) will re-brand the business, bringing the Rock Steady companies under the G4S banner, managed by Mark Hamilton, currently Managing Director, Rock Steady Group.

Rock Steady Group is responsible for the safety of millions of spectators and participants every year at sports, leisure, live music, cultural and business events. It employs up to 2,200 full and part-time registered stewards who are deployed across the UK. Specialising in stewarding and crowd management, the company has provided security services for a number of high profile events including Live8, Radio 1 Big Weekend, the annual Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations, T in the Park and V Festivals.

The acquisition will enable G4S Security Services (UK) to expand its current events capability so that it is best placed to manage the diverse security requirements of a growing calendar of events.

Doug Hewitson, Managing Director, G4S Security Services (UK) commented: “Rock Steady is a world famous name in the events sector and will complement our existing skills and expertise in this specialist part of the security market. This growing market will benefit from the widened range of capabilities we are now able to offer from live music, to political conferences, to iconic sports events.”

Mark Hamilton, Managing Director, Rock Steady Group and Managing Director Director designate of events, G4S Security Services (UK) said: “This is great news for both Rock Steady and G4S. When looking at this opportunity we were impressed by the range of events which G4S already manages and are confident that merging the skills and services of both organisations can only be beneficial to clients, their customers and our staff.”

Rock Steady will complement G4S Security Services (UK)’s dedicated event security team which provides security at high profile events including the Conservative and Labour party conferences, the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon and the British Open Golf Championships.

Related topics:  Security Companies   Security guarding 

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